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What is the best martial art for self defense? What is the best martial art to learn for personal protection, in the eventuality of an attack? Although martial arts were originally meant to be recreational sports and tools for enhancing fitness, they come in handy whenever you need to defend yourself against attackers.

Answering the question posed by the topic of this post would be very difficult, as preferences vary with individuals and location. While Brazilians prefer their own Jiu-Jitsu, those in the Far East prefer Judo and Karate, and the Europeans and Americans prefer boxing and kickboxing. Because it’s impossible to single out one martial art as the best, we would rather be looking at the five best martial arts for self defense. Our choice of these five is because they are very helpful for self-defense purposes, they are easy to learn quickly, and they are very popular, too. In no particular order, here are our five top finishers:

Top Five Best Martial Arts For Self Defense or Personal Protection

1. Kickboxing

Kickboxing trains you to be good at using many “weapons” – your hands, feet, knees, elbows, and head. So, it’s a great martial art that would defend you against any unarmed attacker. Simply rush at your attacker and quickly send him a hard kick in the chin. Kickboxing thrives on such moves that require you to attack fast, using the element of surprise. If you do it correctly, you’ll successfully force your attacker to bite off his tongue, break his jaw, crush his throat, break his teeth, etc.

In kickboxing, you are trained to deliver lethal kicks and blows efficiently and powerfully without being telegraphed. Another smart kickboxing move is to quickly grab his hand with the weapon (if your attacker is holding one other than a gun) and head butt him on the face, particularly on the nose. Kickboxers are also trained to endure pain and damage to any part of the body.

2. Karate

This martial art focuses on attack deflection. Simply step to the attacker’s side and create a lateral line. Then rush at the attacker and strike the punch or knife hand, following that quickly with hard punches on the belly or back. Finish him off by hitting your knee hard on his thigh. This hurts like crazy.

Although blows to the head will destabilize an attacker quickly, Karate doesn’t focus on that because most attackers would protect themselves from head blows. Other parts you can hit at include the chest and the groin

3. Jiu Jitsu

This martial art is a hybrid that incorporates elements of hard striking, grappling, eye gougling, choke holds, biting, joint locks, and being aware of your center of gravity and that of your attacker.

You lower your center of gravity under that of your attacker and you jerk him over or around you. If he is carrying a weapon, trap the arm and hit him hard on the collarbone with a knife-hand strike. This will weaken the arm, giving you enough chance to grab his wrist and ultimately dispossess him of the weapon. If he sends a kick at you, be at alert. Trap the leg and kick him hard on the other leg. To cause further injury, twist the leg you are holding.

4. Boxing

With a heavy punch or uppercut, you can easily send an attacker into the world of regrets. That’s what boxing teaches – how to land heavy blows to the head quickly and accurately. Boxing does not involve kicking. So, your hands are the only weapons you have. As a trained boxer, you can easily punch an attacker and block his own punches.

5. Krav Maga

This is most popular in Israel, and it’s the country’s national martial art. Developed by Imi Lichtenfeld, the Krav Maga aims at a no-holds-barred incapacitation of an attacker for self defense purposes. Krav Maga incorporates the punches from Western boxing, the kick from Karate, the Greco-Roman wrestling, the ground fighting from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the throws and grappling from Jiu Jitsu, and the bursting from Wing Chun Kung Fu.

In Krav Maga, attack and defense are done simultaneously. So, you deliver your blow or kick and block incoming blows or kicks at the same time. Krav Maga also places emphasis on disarming weapon-carrying attackers as well as hand-eye coordination until self-defense becomes part of the individual.

In conclusion, if you have ever wanted to find out the best martial art for self defense, look no further than these five. Note, however, that the content of this post isn’t detailed enough as to teach you all that each martial art entails. To learn any of these arts in more details, consult a seasoned instructor who will walk you through all the moves and tactics involved.